76ers' Joel Embiid on Karl-Anthony Towns Fight: 'I Like to Get in People's Minds'

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid tangled with Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns during the Sixers' 117-95 win Wednesday night, leading to ejections for both, and Embiiid unraveled what happened following the game.

"That's what I'm good at," Embiid told reporters. "I like to get in people's minds."

The 25-year-old noted that there wasn't an unusual amount of trash talk prior to the fight, so he felt like "it kind of came out of nowhere."

"I know [my teammates have my back]," Embiid added. "That's what I love about this team. We love each other. ... It goes beyond basketball."

The fight broke out midway through the third quarter and Philly leading 77-55:

The love among the Sixers that Embiid spoke of was evident when Ben Simmons appeared to put Towns into a chokehold when coming to Embiid's defense:

While a lot went down in the scrum, Embiid doesn't think a suspension will be warranted. "I didn't throw any punches," he told reporters. "So I shouldn't be suspended."

Embiid may not have thrown a punch, but he did stab his thumb into Towns' eye:

ESPN's Rachel Nichols provided more comments from Embiid's press conference:

To his latter point, Embiid left the floor confidently egging on the crowd while fans at Wells Fargo Center chanted "MVP."

As for if the NBA will decide to discipline either Embiid or Towns, The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski offered insight:

This isn't new territory for Embiid, who has a reputation for talking trash. However, prior to the regular season's start, the 2014 third overall pick told ESPN's Zach Lowe on The Lowe Post podcast (h/t CBSSports.com's Chris Bengel), "I'm not talking trash ever again. Allegedly. Maybe. I'm done with all that. That's what I'm saying now, but we're going to see if I can hold up to it."

Old habits die hard.